Despite receiving calls on impending free agent Saquon Barkley, the Giants decided to hang on to their star running back through the trade deadline. That’s because both the organization and the player are interested in a multiyear extension when they can resume talks in January, per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post.

Barkley and the Giants first started extension talks last November but couldn’t come to an agreement. After briefly shopping the RB, the front office decided to slap Barkley with the franchise tag, locking him in to a $10.1MM salary for the 2023 campaign. The two sides continued to negotiate up to the extension deadline for franchise-tagged players, but despite only being about $1MM to $2MM apart in both average annual salary and guarantees, a new deal wasn’t signed.

Those failed negotiations kept open the possibility that the 2023 campaign could be Barkley’s final season in New York. As Dunleavy notes, the developments through the first half of the season may only increase the RB’s chances of leaving. Barkley’s injury issues continued when he was forced to miss three games with a high ankle sprain. In the meantime, fellow star RB Jonathan Taylor inked a manageable three-year, $42MM deal (including $26.5MM guaranteed) with the Colts. This means the Giants’ front office probably hasn’t increased their valuation, requiring Barkley’s side to blink.

Even if the Giants can’t re-sign Barkley, the organization didn’t want to send the wrong message to the team and the fans. As Dunleavy notes, trading the star player would have been a clear message that the organization was quitting on the season, and it also would have indicated that the front office didn’t value “loyalty to the locker room.” Further, the team would have struggled to attract fans for the final handful of home games without their marquee player.

Barkley has repeatedly said he wants to stay with the Giants, and the front office’s willingness to negotiate an extension indicates that they’re not looking to restart at the position. The organization could tag Barkley again this upcoming offseason, which would provide more time for extension talks (while also opening the door to similar trade discussions at next year’s trade deadline).

The Giants’ Leonard Williams trade has provided a fairly clear signal the Giants are fine building for the future. After their surprise surge to the 2022 divisional round, the Giants sit 2-6 and not in position to contend this season.

Saquon Barkley has said he does not want to be traded, and Brian Daboll attempted to squash trade overtures last week by saying a deal was “not happening.” But teams are still checking in. Clubs have continued to contact the Giants on Barkley, Jeff Howe of The Athletic tweets. Once again, the Giants rebuffed inquiries, with CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson confirming teams have received no’s on Barkley inquiries.

With just less than 24 hours until the trade deadline, teams’ interest certainly makes sense — especially now that the Giants moved Williams to the Seahawks. Injuries on offense have driven the Giants to this 2-6 hole, with Sunday’s Jets loss featuring the fewest team passing yards — minus-9 — in the NFL this century. Barkley still displayed quality work, putting together a 36-carry, 128-yard performance despite the team refusing to allow UDFA Tommy DeVito to throw. Barkley, 26, suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2; Sunday provided a decent refresher that the franchise-tagged back is once again healthy.

With the Giants having played eight games, an acquiring team would be on the hook for nine weeks of Barkley’s $10.1MM salary. That works out to just more than $5.5MM. The Giants are paying most of the remaining $10MM on Williams’ salary, but seeing as the team is keeping Barkley off the market, it would stand to reason it is not exactly open to paying some of the Pro Bowl back’s salary to facilitate a trade. Seeing as Barkley is on the tag, however, he does remain an interesting piece that teams clearly are not giving up on potentially obtaining.

The Giants and Barkley could not come to terms on a summer extension, despite negotiations having begun in November 2022. Barkley, who was dangled in trades during the 2022 offseason, was six minutes from free agency at the March deadline to apply franchise tags. But the Giants reaching an extension agreement with Daniel Jones prevented the more talented player from testing the market. The sides then engaged in an unusual negotiation leading up to the July 17 extension deadline for tagged players. The Giants upped Barkley’s guarantees to the $22MM neighborhood but reduced his AAV number in the process. In the end, the sides were less than $2MM apart in terms of guaranteed money and AAV. No deal transpired, opening the door to a Barkley 2024 departure.

While Barkley was obviously interested in gauging his worth in free agency, he has repeatedly said he wants to stay with the Giants. The team will have the option of tagging the former No. 2 overall pick once again, at just more than $12MM, next year. Keeping Barkley past this year’s deadline will keep that option open for the Giants, though considering they extended Jones, Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas and tagged Barkley, it is worth wondering if the New Jersey native is a core piece any longer.

Teams are seeing if that remains the case. The Ravens and Dolphins are believed to be looking into running back additions. Miami asked about Barkley this summer, but it did not appear the teams discussed him for long. With the Titans either committed to keeping Derrick Henry or holding out hope for a big offer, teams are looking into Barkley. As of Monday afternoon, the Penn State alum is being kept off the market.

Long-running extension talks led to Saquon Barkley entering this season on the franchise tag, and the back-and-forth spanning from November 2022 to July 2023 put the New Jersey native’s future with the Giants in question.

While the Giants have said they are not planning to trade Barkley, the subject of another contract lingers. As do the proposals each side made during the lengthy negotiations that began during the Giants’ 2022 bye week. Barkley is attached to a $10.1MM tag, and while he could be kept for barely $12MM on a second tag, it is unclear if the Giants will want to devote that much to a running back who will be going into his seventh season by then.

The Giants’ initial offer was believed to be in the $12.5MM-per-year range, but ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan notes New York’s first proposal was heavy on gameday roster bonuses. The Giants offered Barkley an extension with per-game bonuses around $1MM, effectively tying a notable portion of the deal to playing time. Understandably, Barkley balked and the sides revisited the talks in the offseason. Months of back-and-forth commenced during the sides’ offseason talks, but the two-time Pro Bowler was also minutes from free agency, creating a seminal “what if?” for the former Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Barkley joined Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard in being tagged, thinning the running back market. While a high number of starter-caliber backs still reached free agency, no marquee talents were available. That led to modest offers, with Miles Sanders‘ $6.13MM-per-year deal leading the way. But at least one team was prepared to make Barkley a market-value offer had he been available, according to Raanan. While it is unknown who that team was, the Panthers and Lions devoted the most money to free agent backs this offseason. It is logical either Carolina or Detroit — which respectively ended up with Sanders and David Montgomery — would have pursued Barkley. Though, Detroit had initially wanted to retain Jamaal Williams. When he rejected the offer, the Lions pivoted to Montgomery.

Tied to a Giants tag, Barkley turned down a proposal believed to include at least $22MM guaranteed, which would have covered the cost of two tags. But Raanan adds the Giants did not reach that number until the deadline neared. When New York did come up to the $22MM guarantee neighborhood, the final offer included an AAV drop from where the sides previously were. (The team had offered Barkley $13MM per year at the March deadline to apply tags, though the guarantee number was lower than the July proposal.) The team’s 11th-hour call led to Barkley opting to play on the tag.

Barkley stayed away from the Giants during negotiations and was on track to extend his absence up until Week 1, even threatening a Le’Veon Bell-esque path in which he skipped regular-season games. Barkley’s camp, in turn, was not in lockstep on his decision to report to Giants camp on time in exchange for a modest incentive package (one that will not end up being earned), per the 26-year-old back.

“[I] said, ‘You know what? I’m going to keep quiet — hopefully, you know, just show up, put a smile on my face, work hard, do the things the right way,'” Barkley said, via Raanan. “‘Things going to get taken care of.’ And sadly, it didn’t. But you also could learn from the way Jonathan Taylor did it. At the end of the day, all you want is to be able to say you set yourself up, and get a long-term deal, and get money that you deserve — to help for security of your family.”

Although injuries during the 2019, ’20 and ’21 seasons kept Barkley from high touch totals in three seasons, he will still exit 2023 as a six-year veteran. The Penn State product has recovered from the high ankle sprain sustained in Week 2, but another notable injury on Barkley’s resume will not help his 2024 cause. Neither will a heavy workload down the stretch of this season. Even though Taylor secured a $14MM-per-year deal, that contract may become an outlier as another buyer’s market — which could feature Barkley, Jacobs, Pollard, Ekeler and Derrick Henry — is shaping up for March.

Barkley added that he wants to play into his 30s, but as an every-down back throughout his career, doing so will not be automatic. Even after the tag sequence this offseason, the dual-threat talent remains bullish on staying with the Giants beyond this year. While it will be interesting to see if the sides negotiate again or if a second tag comes to pass, Barkley wants to remain in New York. Though Barkley may not end up collecting a lucrative long-term deal in his career, this tag season will put him over $48MM in career earnings.

“I want to create a legacy, and the way you do that is by continuing to stay with a team through your whole career,” Barkley said. “As I see the NFL and realize the business, you know, it’s less likely for that to happen for players. But if you’re able to accomplish that, it’s special.”

OCTOBER 25: Brian Daboll doubled down on the team’s intention to keep Barkley. The second-year Giants HC said (via the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz) he told the Pro Bowl running an in-season trade is “not happening.” While the Giants may be open to moving other pieces, Barkley’s franchise tag salary will remain on the books.

OCTOBER 22: Saquon Barkley made it clear a few days ago that he is not eyeing a trade which would send him away from the Giants. The extension-eligible back’s sentiment appears to have been matched by the team.

The Giants have no intention of moving Barkley ahead of the October 31 trade deadline, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo notes (video link). That stance has remained the same throughout the year, he adds, meaning the parties are still on track to resume talks on a deal in the offseason. Negotiations after the franchise tag was used did not produce traction, and the 26-year-old avoided a hold-out with an increased incentive package on his one-year deal.

Barkley and the Giants cannot negotiate a long-term contract until the coming offseason, and Garafolo confirms the Giants’ preference remains to get a deal worked out at that time. New York submitted an offer around the $12MM-per-year mark late in negotiations this summer, but the team did so while inverting the guarantee and AAV figures. Plenty of attention has thus been on the former No. 2 pick’s performance this year as he again aims to secure a multi-year pact ahead of free agency.

“Everyone knows I don’t want to get traded,” Barkley said when asked about his long-term future in New York. “Obviously, I’ve been vocal and public about how I feel about this organization and where I want to be. Knowing the business and seeing that side of it, there’s a lot of things I can’t control. I don’t think anybody in their right mind would want to get traded anywhere… I would love to be here.”

The Penn State product has missed time this year due to an ankle injury, and his presence has been missed by a Giants team which has dealt with a number of other injuries throughout the unit and failed to produce much early in the year. Barkley has a long way to go to match his career-best rushing output (1,312 yards) from last season, but he nevertheless remains the focal point of New York’s offense.

On the other hand, Garafolo adds that the Giants could be open to making deals involving other players. Sitting at 1-5 entering Sunday’s action, it would come as no surprise if the team adopted a seller’s stance in the near future. Much about New York’s 2023 outlook could change with a few wins in short order, but a number of players on expiring contracts could make for notable trade chips. The Giants have a number of major financial decisions to make this offseason, regardless of what happens with Barkley, so clearing up flexibility for 2024 and beyond would also be beneficial. In any event, though, the team’s most high-profile player will remain in place through the remainder of the current campaign.

Injuries on offense have led the way in the Giants going from the 2022 divisional round to tumbling to 1-5. They remain without several offensive linemen, and Daniel Jones is week-to-week with his neck injury. Deadline sellers in the past, the Giants will have a decision to make on Saquon Barkley.

The sides trudged through an arduous negotiation this offseason, and while they bridged gaps on AAV and guarantees, no deal came to pass before the July 17 franchise tag extension deadline. Barkley, however, did not follow through on a rumored holdout into Week 1; the sixth-year running back quickly agreed to an adjusted deal to return to the Giants for training camp. With the Giants being unable to renegotiate until after the season, Barkley has a clear path to free agency.

A second Giants tag, at just more than $12MM, could conceivably be in play. But the team may not be keen on setting that amount aside for a running back, especially one that has battled injuries — including a September high ankle sprain — over the course of his career. The Giants will have the option of trading their top skill-position player before the Oct. 31 deadline. Despite the occasionally acrimonious negotiations this offseason, Barkley is rooting against relocating from New York.

“Everyone knows I don’t want to get traded,” Barkley said, via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy. “Obviously, I’ve been vocal and public about how I feel about this organization and where I want to be. Knowing the business and seeing that side of it, there’s a lot of things I can’t control. I don’t think anybody in their right mind would want to get traded anywhere. It’s not an easy thing to do: You’ve got to move. I have a family. I would love to be here.”

Barkley, 26, has said many times he wants to stay with the Giants for the rest of his career. The Giants not tagging him again would test him here, and a crowded 2024 RB market — even without Jonathan Taylor, who just signed a $14MM-per-year Colts extension — may not reward him on the level of what he turned down from the Giants in July. The Giants moving their AAV number south of $12MM per year, as they bumped the offer’s guarantee toward the $22MM ballpark, prompted Barkley to pass and play on the $10.1MM tag. It is unclear if the $22MM guarantee number represented the guarantee at signing or the injury guarantee; Taylor received $19MM locked in at signing but $26.5MM in practical guarantees due to the contract’s structure.

Were a team to take on Barkley’s contract after Week 7, it would owe more than $5MM in prorated salary. That might not seem prohibitive for a buyer, but considering the trade markets Taylor and Austin Ekeler encountered this year, the Giants might not see a great return for the two-time Pro Bowler. But it would be a deal the team would probably consider, Barkley’s popularity notwithstanding, as he is in a contract year.

The Giants have traded the likes of Eli Apple, Damon Harrison and Markus Golden before past deadlines; they moved Kadarius Toney to the Chiefs last year. In its second season, the Brian Daboll–Joe Schoen regime is not shopping players at this point, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes.

Barkley came up in trade talks during the 2022 offseason, but after three injury-truncated seasons, the 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year bounced back and powered the Giants to a surprising playoff berth. He returned from his high ankle sprain in Week 6, gaining 93 rushing yards on 24 carries to help the Giants scare the Bills despite coming in as two-touchdown underdogs.

The team’s current record will likely prevent New York from venturing to back-to-back postseasons, but no notable Barkley trade buzz has circulated. While this situation could change before the deadline, Barkley is on track to finish out his tag year in the Big Apple.

The Giants-Saquon Barkley saga is on hold for the next several months. The Giants gave the sixth-year running back a small incentive package to report to camp on time, and Barkley is tied to the $10.1MM franchise tender this season.

Twists and turns emerged on the way here, of course, and this certainly could be the final year of this partially fruitful partnership. Barkley, 26, made comments regarding the Giants-side leaks that came out of these negotiations and, just before the tag deadline, discussed a number of topics — including his skillset and usage rate. His skillset, naturally, came up during negotiations.

Barkley’s receiving ability became a sticking point during the ultimately failed talks, per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, who notes the team made a point to state that the former No. 2 overall pick’s receiving prowess was not on the level of Christian McCaffrey‘s. During his appearance on the Money Matters podcast just before the July 17 deadline, Barkley disputed the team’s contention about his aerial capabilities.

“If that’s what you are telling me and I know what they signed for, what are we really talking about?” Barkley said. “After hearing that, they tell you, ‘This is the type of player you are.’ I’m like, ‘Eh, no. I can catch the ball. I had 91 catches, the rookie record for a running back.”

In attempting to find common ground, the Giants compared Barkley to two run-oriented backs. That assessment can be deemed partially inaccurate, but the way Barkley has been used since that 91-catch 2018 season does not paint it as entirely misleading. The Giants have not involved Barkley nearly as much as a receiver since Pat Shurmur‘s firing. Eli Manning being benched early in the 2019 season became a tipping point for Barkley’s pass-game usage.

En route to Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, the former No. 2 overall pick totaled 721 receiving yards in 2018. Only Hall of Famers Edgerrin James and Eric Dickerson have topped Barkley’s 2,028 scrimmage yards as rookies. While Barkley’s 2022 comeback season resulted in a career-high rushing total (1,312 yards), he did not approach the 2018 yards-from-scrimmage number due to less pass-game involvement. Barkley caught 57 passes for just 338 yards during his first season with Brian Daboll. That is his third-highest career total, with Shurmur’s second season — featuring Daniel Jones as the primary QB — ending with 52 Barkley receptions for 438 yards.

McCaffrey has averaged 8.5 yards per catch over his career; Barkley is at 7.4. If the Giants view Barkley as more of a runner, naturally his value will drop. Of course, Barkley’s camp almost definitely argued he remains a high-end receiving talent — just in an offense that has not properly utilized that skill. It will be interesting to see how the Giants use Barkley this year, but seeing as the team made a point to acquire Darren Waller and more receiving help, a spike in Barkley targets is harder to envision. Barkley’s receiving total this year will certainly make an impact in his 2024 market value — should the Giants pass on a second franchise tag.

The long-running Saquon Barkley-Giants saga has hit a pause, with the Pro Bowl running back signing a revised franchise tag that includes a small incentive package. Unable to negotiate a long-term deal until January, Barkley returned to the team for the start of training camp.

Barkley relayed his disappointment about the talks failing to produce an offer he deemed respectable, indicating Thursday (via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan) if the Giants had submitted worthwhile terms he would have signed an extension. Rumors pointed to the Giants upping their guarantee offer past the $22MM mark but decreasing the deal’s AAV below $12MM. Previous reports had placed an earlier Giants proposal past $13MM-per-year territory. But Barkley will enter this season on the $10.1MM tag, being in the same boat as Tony Pollard and Josh Jacobs.

While Barkley did not express dissatisfaction about the Giants paying Daniel Jones, Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas — on deals worth $40MM, $22.5MM and $23.5MM per year, respectively — and not him, he did note (via the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard) the continued devaluation of the running back position is unfair. He took part in the recent Zoom call involving several running backs, and Chargers standout Austin Ekeler recently confirmed (via USA Today’s Tyler Dragon) more discussions among RBs are on tap.

Declining to discuss details of the proposals each side made during the negotiations, the sixth-year running back said (via Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano) the Giants having the leverage from the tag led to no deal commencing. But the Giants reached out to Barkley for a way to bring him back into the fold, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Had the incentive package — worth $909K — emerged, Vacchiano echoes previous reports by adding Barkley was considering not showing up until just before the season.

The 26-year-old RB said skipping regular-season games would be an option, but it does not look like he strongly considered that path — one that would have meant passing on $561K game checks. Barkley could have taken the Le’Veon Bell route to preserve his body for a free agency bid, but considering the state of the RB market five years after Bell’s gamble, it is unlikely a Jets-like parachute would have awaited had he done so.

“If I sat out this year and we didn’t have a good record, do you think that’s gonna make another team in free agency or the Giants want to have me come back the next year after I sat out a whole year?” Barkley said, via SNY.com. “‘We want to give you $15MM a year now.’ I don’t think that’s how it’s going to work.

“After having conversations and really breaking it down, you say the only way that I’m going to make a change or do something that’s gonna benefit for myself and my family is doing what I do best. That’s showing up, playing the game I love and do it at a high level.”

As for Barkley’s incentives, they are classified as not likely to be earned. As such, the $909K number will not go on New York’s 2023 cap sheet. If Barkley hits any of the benchmarks, those numbers will go on the team’s 2024 payroll. Each number is tied to Big Blue making the playoffs, per the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy, who notes the rushing yards (1,350), receptions (65) and touchdowns (11) totals are each worth $303K and only vest if the team reaches the postseason (Twitter links).

Barkley last hit 65 catches in 2018, which was also his only season with 11-plus TDs. He has never rushed for 1,350 yards. If the Giants tag Barkley again, the incentives would be part of that agreement as well, Albert Breer of SI.com adds. But the base value of a 2024 tag would still be $12.1MM.

A report indicated the Giants heard from two teams — one of them the Dolphins — on a prospective Barkley trade following the failed extension talks, but GM Joe Schoen insisted no discussions occurred. The Giants listened on Barkley trade interest last year, but he bounced back from an injury-plagued stretch and drew the franchise tag. The team can still trade Barkley before this year’s deadline, though no extension agreement can commence. The Giants trading the New Jersey native would leave them vulnerable at running back, hence the decision to keep him via the tag in March.

“We never had a conversation about trading Saquon Barkley. Never,” Schoen said, via Raanan. “We get calls all the time. We’ve already gotten them this offseason, whether it’s our 10th corner … or one of your top guys. We get those calls all the time, even in June.

“… We talked for over 9½ months, and we came to a landing spot and they came to a landing spot. We couldn’t bridge the gap [on a long-term deal]. Like I said, that’s OK. Saquon has to do what is best for him and his family. I respect the hell out of Saquon.”